Hugo Chávez hits Twitter to take on opponents

Hugo Chávez, president of Venezuela, has opened a Twitter account to take on opponents who use the microblogging site to criticise his socialist government.

Chávez on Twitter: Will he manage to tweet his thoughts in 140 characters?

The famously anti-US leftist leader bagged himself nearly 5,000 followers in the few hours after his people announced his Twitter launch, with the first tweet from @Chavezcandanga reading (in Spanish): “Hey how’s it going? I appeared like I said I would: at midnight.

“I’m off to Brazil. And very happy to work for Venezuela. We will be victorious!!”

@Chavezcandanga’s very first tweet appeared just after midnight

As of this morning, Chávez’s followers had topped the 27,000 mark.

In Venezuelan Spanish, “candanga” refers to someone daring, rebellious, or just a bit naughty, though it carries connotations of the devil too â appropriate for the man who labelled George W Bush “the Devil himself”â¦

The president’s entry into the microblogging universe is amusing onlookers largely because of his notoriously long televised speeches and radio broadcasts, with many eager to see what he’ll make of Twitter’s 140-character limit.